The Washington Huskies are getting “should on” by everyone after their loss to Oregon last Saturday; they “should have” done this, and “should have” done that.
But the fans need to stop “should’ing” on them, and move forward.
The season isn’t over…a playoff run is, however. But they still are in the hunt for the Pac-12 title. While the Huskies probably have the worst part of their schedule behind them now, things are about to get real for the Oregon Ducks.
They travel to Pullman this weekend, Arizona next weekend, and then UCLA, and the weekend after that they travel to Utah. The Ducks will need to play a better game on the road than they did against Washington at home if they want to win out (and UCLA is beginning to get hot so watch out).
Washington, however, faces North foe Stanford at home, south contender Colorado at home, and after that they’re biggest challenge may be the Apple Cup.
So at this point it would be unfair — and unrealistic — to assume that Washington is out of the Pac-12 race.
If they beat Stanford and win out, and Oregon wins out, then the tie-breaker would go to Oregon simply because Washington was the last team to win the North, but if Washington wins out and Oregon loses one game, the Huskies are in because Stanford beat Oregon, and Stanford would have two Pac-12 losses.
The question is: Can Washington win out?
Absolutely — they have a favorable schedule going forward. Stanford at home, Colorado at home, Oregon State at home, Cal on the road, but that Apple Cup could be interesting.
While Chris Petersen has the Cougars dialed in, this game is still in Pullman this year and so it’s never a gimme. The Cougars won’t have their bye before the game with Washington like they did last year.
Indeed, Washington State could be the darkhorse of the North right now, so that Apple Cup game could become the determining game for who wins the North.
So don’t despair, Husky fans. And don’t “should on” your Dawgs anymore. It’s time move to forward.
